Sunday, May 30, 2004

The Squirrel Grenade - by T-Duck

I never dreamed slowly cruising through a residential neighborhood
could be so incredibly dangerous! Studies have shown that motorcycling
requires more decisions per second, and more sheer data processing than
nearly any other common activity or sport. The reactions and accurate
decision making abilities needed have been likened to the reactions of
fighter pilots! The consequences of bad decisions or poor situational
awareness are pretty much the same for both groups too.
Occasionally, as a rider I have caught myself starting to make bad or
late decisions while riding. In flight training, my instructors called
this “being behind the power curve.” It is a mark of experience that
when this begins to happen, the rider recognizes the situation, and even
more importantly, does something about it. A short break, a meal, or
even a gas stop can set things right again as it gives the brain a
chance to catch up. Good, accurate, and timely decisions are essential
when riding a motorcycle, at least if you want to remain among the
living. In short, the brain needs to keep up with the machine. I had
been banging around the roads of east Texas and as I headed back into
Dallas, found myself in very heavy, high-speed traffic on the freeways.
Normally, this is not a problem.

I commute in these conditions daily,
but suddenly I was nearly run down by a cage that decided that it needed
my lane more than I did. This is not normally a big deal either, as it
happens around here often, but usually I can accurately predict which
drivers are not paying attention and avoid them before we are even
close. This one I missed seeing until it was nearly too late, and as
I took evasive action I nearly broadsided another car that I was not
even aware was there! Two bad decisions and insufficient situational
awareness. All within seconds. I was behind the power curve. Time to get
off the freeway. I hit the next exit, and as I was in an area I knew
pretty well, headed through a few big residential neighborhoods as a new
route home. As I turned onto the nearly empty streets I opened the visor
on my full-face helmet to help get some fresh air. I figured some slow
riding through the quiet surface streets would give me time to relax,
think, and regain that “edge” so frequently required when riding.
Little did I suspect. As I passed an oncoming car, a brown furry missile
shot out from under it and tumbled to a stop immediately in front of me.
It was a squirrel, and must have been trying to run across the road when
it encountered the car. I really was not going very fast, but there was
no time to brake or avoid it - it was that close. I hate to run over
animals. And I really hate it on a motorcycle, but a squirrel should
pose no danger to me. I barely had time to brace for the impact. Animal
lovers, never fear. Squirrels can take care of themselves! Inches before
impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind
legs and facing the oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his
little beady eyes. His mouth opened, and at the last possible
second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel
for, “Banzai!” or maybe, “Die you gravy-sucking heathen **** !” as the
leap was spectacular and he flew over the windshield and impacted me
squarely in the chest. Instantly he set upon me. If I did not know
better I would have sworn he brought twenty of his little buddies along
for the attack. Snarling, hissing, and tearing at my clothing, he was a
frenzy of activity. As I was dressed only in a light T-shirt, summer
riding gloves, and jeans this was a bit of a cause for concern. This
furry little tornado was doing some damage! Picture a large man on a
huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and leather
gloves puttering about 25 mph down a quiet residential street and in the
fight of his life with a squirrel. And losing. I grabbed for him with my
left hand and managed to snag his tail. With all my strength I flung the
evil rodent off the left of the bike, almost running into the right curb
as I recoiled from the throw. That should have done it. The matter
should have ended right there. It really should have. The squirrel could
have sailed into one of the pristinely kept yards and gone on about his
business, and I could have headed home. No one would have been the
wiser. But this was no ordinary squirrel. This was not even and
ordinarily annoyed squirrel. This was an evil attack squirrel of death!
Somehow he caught my gloved finger with one of his little hands, and
with the force of the throw swung around and with a resounding thump and
an amazing impact he landed squarely on my back and resumed his rather
anti-social and extremely distracting activities. He also managed to
take my left glove with him! The situation was not improved. Not
improved at all. His attacks were continuing, and now I could not reach
him. I was startled to say the least. The combination of the force of
the throw, only having one hand (the throttle hand) on the handlebars,
and my jerking back unfortunately put a healthy twist through my right
hand and into the throttle. A healthy twist on the throttle of a
Valkyrie can only have one result. Torque. This is what the Valkyrie
is made for, and she is very, very good at it. The engine roared as the
front wheel left the pavement. The squirrel screamed in anger. The
Valkyrie screamed in ecstasy. I screamed in, well I just plain screamed.
Now picture a large man on a huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed
in jeans, a slightly squirrel torn T-shirt, and only one leather glove
roaring at maybe 70 mph and rapidly accelerating down a quiet
residential street on one wheel and a demonic squirrel on his back. The
man and the squirrel are both screaming bloody murder. With the sudden
acceleration I was forced to put my other hand back on the handlebars
and try to get control of the bike. This was leaving the mutant
squirrel to his own devices, but I really didn’t want to crash into
somebody’s tree, house, or parked car. Also, I had not figured out how
to release the throttle. My brain was just simply overloaded. I did
manage to mash the back brake, but it had little effect against the
massive power of the big cruiser. About this time the squirrel decided
that I was not paying sufficient attention to this very serious battle
(maybe he is a Scottish attack squirrel of death), and he came around my
neck and got IN my full-face helmet with me. As the faceplate closed
part way and he began hissing in my face I am quite sure my screaming
changed tone and intensity. It seemed to have little effect on the
squirrel however. The rpm’s on The Dragon maxed out (I was not concerned
about shifting at this moment) and her front end started to drop. Now
picture the large man on the huge black and chrome cruiser, dressed in
jeans, a very torn T-shirt, and wearing one leather glove, roaring at
probably 80 mph, still on one wheel, with a large puffy squirrel’s tail
sticking out his mostly closed full-face helmet. By now the screams
are probably getting a little hoarse. Finally, I got the upper hand. I
managed to grab his tail again, pulled him out of my helmet, and slung
him to the left as hard as I could. This time it worked, sort of.
Spectacularly sort of, so to speak. Picture the scene. You are a cop.
You and your partner have pulled off on a quiet residential street with
your windows down to so some paperwork. Suddenly a large man on a huge
black and chrome cruiser, dressed in jeans, a torn T-shirt flapping in
the breeze, and wearing one leather glove, moving at probably 80 mph on
one wheel, and screaming bloody murder roars by and with all his
strength throws a live squirrel grenade into your police car. I heard
screams. They weren’t mine. I managed to get the big motorcycle under
directional control and dropped the front wheel to the ground. I then
used maximum braking and skidded to a stop in a cloud of tire smoke at
the stop sign of a very busy cross street. I would have returned to fess
up (and to get my glove back). I really would have. But for two
things. First, the cops did not seem interested or the slightest bit
concerned about me at the moment. One of them was on his back in the
front yard of a house they had parked in front of and was rapidly
crabbing backwards away from the patrol car. The other was standing in
the street training a riot gun on the police cruiser. So the cops
were not interested in me. They often insist to “let the professionals
handle it” anyway. That was one thing. The other? Well, I swear I could
see the squirrel standing in the back window of the patrol car among
shredded and flying pieces of foam and upholstery, and shaking his
little fist at me. That was one dangerous squirrel. And now he has a
patrol car. I took a deep breath, turned on my turn signal, made an easy
right turn. And sedately left the neighborhood. As for my easy and slow
ride home? Screw it. Faced with a choice of 80 mph cars and
inattentive drivers, or the evil, demonic, attack squirrel of death ...
I’ll take my chances with the freeway. Every time. And I’ll buy myself a
new pair of gloves.

Saturday, May 29, 2004

the service industries always rises to the occasion

Breast Baring Commonplace Here

I knew there was at least one thing that was positive about Europeans.

If you think we’re living in racy times now, think again. Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl escapade wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow in the 17th century. Based on an in-depth study of fashion, portraits, prints, and thousands of woodcuts from ballad sheets of that era, researchers from the University of Warwick in Coventry, England report that women of the 1600s--from queens to prostitutes--commonly exposed one or both breasts in public and in the popular media of the day, reports Discovery News.

more poetry!!!

an interesting read

I consider myself..... gee i dont really know the label… maybe an “acceptaist”? well at any rate what ever those are these days i find lots of things and subject “interesting” even though I may agree or disagree i suppose I might be a “spongist”!

This article could be essential background for the serious Bible student concerned about his fellow travelers and aliens in this world as Paul describes us all. Although long, this article gives a historical perspective to what’s going on in the War on Terrorism.

I suggest we pray to God that we persevere. The dictionary definition of CALIPH, by the way is: A leader of an Islamic polity, regarded as a successor of Muhammad and by tradition always male, and a CALIPHATE is the office or jurisdiction of a caliph.

THE CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS AND THE GREAT CALIPHATE
by Larry Abraham, January 29, 2004

I urge my readers to make copies of this report and send them to your friends and relatives. The information is too critical to be overlooked in the madness of this election year. Watching and listening to the candidates is tantamount to enduring the Chinese water torture. The blah, blah, blah goes on and on and nothing of value comes out except the pain of listening to the same nothingness over and over again. I won’t take the time or space to repeat what you have heard so many mind numbing times but what you have not heard is crucial.

President Bush and his administration spokesmen are not telling the American people what they really need to know about this “war.” If they don’t do that between now and November it may cost them the election. The war against terror did not begin on September 11, 2001, nor will it end with the peaceful transition to civilian authority in Iraq,
whenever that may be. In fact, Iraq is but a footnote in the bigger context of this encounter, but an important one none the less.

This war is what the Jihadists themselves are calling the “Third Great Jihad.” They are operating within the framework of a time line which reaches back to the very creation of Islam in the seventh century and are presently attempting to recreate the dynamics which gave rise to the religion in the first two hundred years of its existence.

No religion in history grew as fast, in its infancy, and the reasons for the initial growth of Islam are not hard to explain when you understand what the world was like at the time of Muhammad’s death in 632 AD. Remember that the Western Roman Empire was in ruins and the Eastern Empire, based in Constantinople, was trying desperately to keep the power of its early grandeur while transitioning to Christianity as a de facto state religion. The costs to the average person were large as he was being required to meet the constantly rising taxes levied by the state along with the tithes coerced by the Church. What Islam offered was the “carrot or the sword”. If you became a convert, your taxes were immediately eliminated, as was your tithe. If you didn’t, you faced death. The choice was not hard for most to make, unless you were a very devoted martyr in the making. At the beginning, even the theology was not too hard for most to swallow, considering that both Jewry and Christianity were given their due by the Prophet.

There is but one God-Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet, as was Jesus, and the pre-Christian Jewish prophets of the Torah (Old Testament). Both were called “children of the book"--the book being the Koran, which replaced both the Old and New Testaments for former Christians and Jews. With this practical approach to spreading the “word” Islam grew like wild-fire, reaching out from the Saudi Arabian Peninsula in all directions. This early growth is what the Muslims call the “First” great Jihad and it met with little resistance until Charles Martel of France, the father of Charlemagne, stopped them in the battle of Tours in France after they had firmly established Islam on the Iberian Peninsula.
This first onslaught against the West continued in various forms and at various times until Islam was finally driven out of Spain in 1492 at the battle of Granada.

The “Second great jihad” came with the Ottoman Turks. This empire succeeded in bringing about the downfall of Constantinople as a Christian stronghold and an end to Roman hegemony in all of its forms. The Ottoman Empire was Islam’s most successful
expansion of territory even though the religion itself had fractured into warring sects and bitter rivalries with each claiming the ultimate truths in “the ways of the Prophet”.
By 1683 the Ottomans had suffered a series of defeats on both land and sea and the final, unsuccessful attempt to capture Vienna set the stage for the collapse of any further territorial ambitions and Islam shrunk into various sheikhdoms, emir dominated principalities, and roving tribes of nomads. However, by this time a growing anti-western
sentiment, blaming its internal failures on anyone but themselves, was taking hold and setting the stage for a new revival known as Wahhabism, a sect which came into full bloom under the House of Saud on the Arabian Peninsula shortly before the onset of WWI. It is
this Wahhabi version of Islam, which has infected the religion itself, now finding adherents in almost all branches and sects, especially the Shiites.

Wahhabiism calls for the complete and total rejection or destruction of anything and everything which is not based in the original teachings of The Prophet and finds its most glaring practice in the policies of the Afghani Taliban or the Shiite practices of the late
Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. Its Ali Pasha (Field Marshall) is now known as Osama bin Laden, the leader of the “Third Jihad”, who is Wahhabi as were his 9/11 attack teams, 18 of which were also Saudi.

The strategy for this “holy war” did not begin with the planning of the destruction of the World Trade Center. It began with the toppling of the Shah of Iran back in the late 1970’s. With his plans and programs to “westernize” his country, along with his close ties
to the U.S. and subdued acceptance of the State of Israel, the Shah was the soft target.
Remember “America Held Hostage”? Thanks, in large part to the disastrous policies of Carter State Department, the revolution was set into motion, the Shah was deposed, his armed forces scattered or murdered and stage one was complete. The Third Jihad now
had a base of operations and the oil wealth to support its grand design or what they call the “Great Caliphate”.

What this design calls for is the replacement of all secular leadership in any country with Muslim majorities. This would include,Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan, Indonesia, all the Emirates, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Malaysia, Indonesia and finally what they call the “occupied territory” Israel.

As a part of this strategy, forces of the jihad will infiltrate governments and the military as a prelude to taking control, once the secular leadership is ousted or assassinated. Such was the case in Lebanon leading to the Syrian occupation and in Egypt with the murder of Anwar Sadat, along with the multiple attempts on the lives of Hussein in Jordan, Mubarak of Egypt and Musharraf in Pakistan. Pakistan is a particular prize because of its nuclear weapons. (Please note al Qaeda’s call for the Islamic-militant overthrow of Musharraf in Pakistan on March 25.)

The long-range strategy of the Third Jihad counts on three strategic goals. First, the U.S. withdrawing from the region just as it did in Southeast Asia, following Vietnam. Second, taking control of the oil wealth in the Muslim countries, which would be upwards to 75% of known reserves; third, using nuclear weapons or other WMDs to annihilate Israel. A further outcome of successfully achieving these objectives would be to place the United Nations as the sole arbiter in East/West negotiations and paralyze western resistance, leading to total withdrawal from all Islamic dominated countries. Evidence of the Bush Administration awareness of this plan is found in the events immediately following the 9/11 attack. The administration’s first move was to shore up Pakistan and Egypt, believing that these two would be the next targets for al Qaeda, while Americans focused on the disaster in New York. The administration also knew that the most important objective was to send a loud and clear message that the U.S. was in the region to stay, not only to shore up our allies but to send a message to the Jihadists.

The attack on Afghanistan was necessary to break-up a secure al Qaeda base of operations and put their leadership on the run or in prison. The war in Iraq also met a very strategic necessity in that no one knew how much collaboration existed between Saddam Hussein
and the master planners of the Third Jihad or Hussein’s willingness to hand off WMDs to terrorist groups including the PLO in Israel. What was known were serious indications of on-going collaboration as Saddam funneled money to families of suicide bombers attacking the Israelis and others in Kuwait. What the U.S. needed to establish was a significant base of operations smack dab in the middle of the Islamic world, in a location which effectively cut it in half. Iraq was the ideal target for this and a host of other strategic reasons.

Leadership of various anti-American groups both here and abroad understood the vital nature of the Bush initiative and thus launched their demonstrations, world-wide, to “Stop
The War”. Failing this, they also laid plans to build a political campaign inside the country, with the War in Iraq as a plebiscite, using a little known politician as the thrust point
--Howard Dean. This helps to explain how quickly the Radical Left moved into the Dean campaign with both people and money, creating what the clueless media called the “Dean Phenomenon”. By building on the left-wing base in the Democrat party and the
“Hate Bush” crowd, the campaign has already resulted in a consensus among the aspirants, minus Joe Lieberman, to withdraw the U.S. from Iraq and turn the operation over to the U.N. And, if past is prologue, i.e., Vietnam, once the U.S. leaves it will
not go back under any circumstances, possibly even the destruction of Israel. Should George W. Bush be defeated in November we could expect to see the dominoes start to fall in the secular Islamic countries and The Clash of Civilizations, predicted several years ago by Samuel Huntington, would then become a life changing event in all of our lives.
What surprised the Jihadists following the 9/11 attack was how American sentiment mobilized around the president and a profound sense of patriotism spread across the country. They were not expecting this reaction, based on what had happened in the past,
nor were they expecting the determined resolve of the President himself. I also believe this is one of the reasons we have not had any further attacks within our borders. They are content to wait, just as one of their tactical mentors; V. I. Lenin admonished in,
“two steps forward, one step back”.

A couple additional events serve as valuable footnotes to the current circumstances we face: the destruction of the human assets factor of the CIA during the Carter presidency, presided over by the late Senator Frank Church. This fact has plagued our intelligence agencies right up to this very day with consequences which should be obvious. Lastly, we should not expect to see any meaningful cooperation from Western Europe, especially the French. Since failing to protect their own interests in Algeria (by turning the country over
to the first of the Arab terrorists, Ammad Ben Bella), the country itself is now occupied by Islamic immigrants totaling twenty percent of the population.

We are in the battle of our lives, a battle which will go on for many years, possibly even generations. If we fail to understand what we are facing or falter in the challenge of “knowing our enemy” the results will be catastrophic. Imagine a world where al Qaeda regimes control 75% of the world’s oil, have at their disposal nuclear weapons,
legions of willing suicide soldiers, and our national survival is dependent on the good graces of Kofi Annan and the United Nations.

There is one final footnote which may be the scariest of all. Either none of the Democrats currently leading the drive to their party’s nomination are aware of the facts of the Great Caliphate and Third Jihad or they do know and they don’t care so long as their power lust
is satisfied. But, I can guarantee you one thing for sure: some of their most ardent supporters are aware of this and will do anything they can to bring it about.

Thursday, May 27, 2004

it never ends

so we’re working today and finishing up the stucco color coat on the bunkerhill project, and a couple of contractors pull me off the jobe for a bid, then another guy comes and wants a bid for color coat too. I swear sometimes it seems we will never get out of that neighborhood. Which by the way is fine seeing that there seems to be a whole lotta work available…

so sunday we will leave to the beautiful El Cis resort in mazatlan. [url=http://www.elcid.com]http://www.elcid.com[/url]
surf around and see some of the fine ammenities. we will be staying in a one bedroom suite complete with full kitchen and living room, and 2 full baths that is atop the24th floor. i cant wait..... idont think ill have i access so dont expect any posts.... but ill see what i can do to pusuade some of the locals.

Monday, May 24, 2004

Last night

On the way back to NJ from TN, I saw the brand new 2005 Corvette. The pictures are so large, I will put them in the Gallery. This was in western Virginia at a gas station. There were two ‘Vettes each was driven by a dedicated Corvette engineer.

Saturday, May 22, 2004

If everything has gone as planned.

We are in GA now.

Finally after two weeks, I feel comfortable speaking a language with local people. I hope you can understand how that feels.

The humidity in GA is awful compared to most of Peru. But I think I can handle it for a few more hours. Trinity does look like she has indeed gained a few pounds since we left for Peru two weeks ago.

I’m all stinky and all of my clothes are in the washing machine now. Maybe I will take a shower before I lay down to rest. Maybe not. I’m tired. Give me at least three days to go through the photos and upload them to the site. I shot over 600MB of photos. So it will take some time.

Friday, May 21, 2004

Almost home!!

We are back in Lima, Peru. Our flight back the ole’ US of A leaves tonight (or tomorrow) at 00:10.

It is REALLY nice to be closer to sea level. Showering and brushing one’s teeth take far less effort than at 12,000 feet above sea level. Although I could do without some of the humidity, it is nice to notice my heartrate down about 30%.

I tried to find the Harley Davidson shop that I visited the last time I was here, but it appears to have disappeared. Perhaps the $30 tshirts were a little too rich for the locals to continue to support.

Probably in a little while we will all go out for our last dinner of tipico foods.

OH YEAH!!!

I ate a guinea pig last night. Everyone had some. It was a little chewy, but had a nice aromatic flavoring. There was so much meat that I couldnĄt eat it all. The manager of the restaurant said that the local people usually only have Cuy on special occasions like a birthday or wedding.

I canĄt wait to go to Vietnam where my eyes are set on some baked cat.

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Cusco is still kinda high.

So that mere fact is making morning activities a bit rough sometimes.

Like morning showers that have just enough hot water to get yourself all lathered up before shocking you will the Andean chill water. Walking downstairs to the buffet continental breakfast with turbocharged coffee is a chore.

The weather is nice during the day and chilly at night. EVERYONE seems to be trying to sell postcards or finger puppets or those personal pan-sized watercolored paintings.

I have made a vow not to complain about Rte 9 near our house because even with its exposed seams it is a much better road than most we have travelled on. (Lucky me, Rte 9 is being repaved now!) That will be an easy vow to keep.

Today I plan on having Guinea Pig for a meal. IĄll report back on the little critter. I might even take a picture.